MARKETING PLANNING
WHAT DOES YOUR PRACTICE DO?
Whether you are starting out or are an established therapist, it is essential to clearly communicate the list of services that you provide. This includes the areas of interest that you cover and the way in which you provide them. For example, are you providing Zoom and telephone consultations? Are you back conducting in-person sessions? Do you provide in-house services for companies or organisations? Do you teach or offer workshops on certain topics?
What are your preferred services - the ones where you feel you have the greatest impact with clients?
To identify the services you want to promote click on the button below to download and complete the Defining Your Services Tool - it will ultimately feed your content plans for website, email and social media.
DIRECTIONS
The Service column indicates the details of your practice offering, areas of interest, specific types of client and ways in which you offer your service.
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If there is a general category / service not covered in this column, please add it to the blank line(s) at the base of that column.
The Full Description column issued to identify your practice’s specific offering - or what you want to offer. Simply circle/highlight the areas of interest that you cover. You can add any other areas of interest not included beside ‘ Other: ‘ in this column.
The Priority Level Column identifies the level at which you would like to promote these offerings across the board. For example, if you prefer to work on certain interests above all else such as Anxiety & Depression, assign ‘High’ in this column across from the relevant interest - SEE EXAMPLE in second row of table.
These results will feed into your overall strategy and plan.
IDENTIFY YOUR KEY CLIENT(S)
You may have many different types of client, but an important exercise is to identify your ‘Key Clients’. These are the people that you like working with the most & are best for your practice. They gain a lot from the treatment you provide and speak highly of your practice. We can appeal to lots of different clients but we should always keep your key clients top of mind for marketing. By profiling your key clients, you will focus your energy more efficiently and not try to be all things to everyone.
You likely treat all ages of client however some will drive the decision to use your practice more than others.
For example, if you are more focused on treating children or adolescents, parents will make these decisions for their whole family and may try to find you by location / online reputation (including case studies). Alternatively, the issue of grief & loss may be more likely to yield a higher level of inquiries from people 50+ years who will use search engines to find a therapist.
By identifying these key clients / decisions makers, you can focus on those you wish to work with most.
To identify your key clients, click on the link below and complete the Profiling Key Clients Tool. Refer to the directions below.
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DIRECTIONS
Using the results of the services from Tool 1, list your high priority services in the Service row (one per cell, up to four). Take the first service and think of the clients who currently avail of it. Fill in the column underneath that service by recording the requested information in each row, age, gender etc. Then repeat for each of the four priority services you have listed. This will develop your key client profile & will be used to concentrate on the channels you choose to market and what you will say.
Ask your clients how they heard about you during the initial inquiry/ first session - this info is invaluable!
PRACTICE GOALS
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Finally, click on the link below to set your practice goals. This simple yet essential exercise will keep you focused on the health of your practice. Complete each section display prominently so that it remains top of mind.
